


Ignore Everybody Else, We're Alone Now

by chaoticamanda



Category: Borderlands, Tales from the Borderlands - Fandom
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Light Romance, The Vault of the Traveler spoilers, basically the scene where they enter the vault, light fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-22
Updated: 2015-10-22
Packaged: 2018-04-27 15:09:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5053510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chaoticamanda/pseuds/chaoticamanda
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The adrenaline is still kicking hard in her system, but that doesn’t stop her breath from being taken away when they enter the Vault. It’s beautiful-- more beautiful than anything Fiona can describe, and it’s utterly silent. She hears Rhys gasp beside her, and she wonders if his eye is telling him anything about this place. There is what looks like a glowing coffin at the top of a long stretch of stairs, and it must be what they came for. Is this really the end of their adventure?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ignore Everybody Else, We're Alone Now

The adrenaline is still kicking hard in her system, but that doesn’t stop her breath from being taken away when they enter the Vault. It’s beautiful-- more beautiful than anything Fiona can describe, and it’s utterly silent. She hears Rhys gasp beside her, and she wonders if his eye is telling him anything about this place. There is what looks like a glowing coffin at the top of a long stretch of stairs, and it must be what they came for.

Rhys is staring at it, his mouth hanging open. Fiona is struck with a distant memory of him pulling the same face, and it wells some fondness within her. Offering her hand to him, she takes a step forward. He blinks when she moves, and looks down at her hand with some surprise. Fiona’s about to pull it back, the beginnings of regret and embarrassment ebbing into her excitement, but he offers her a small smile and slips his chrome hand into hers.

They walk slowly, taking in the gleam of the life within the Vault. She feels Rhys’s hand tighten and she looks over at him curiously. His answering smile falters and he lets out a deep breath, “I can’t believe we’re here. This is crazy.”

“I know,” She agrees, hating how desperate it comes out, “I never...I mean, who would have thought that we’d ever be Vault Hunters?”

Rhys shakes his head, glancing at something off of the walkway, “I think this is the end of my Vault Hunting days. You know...I just wanted a promotion.”

Fiona tenses, watching the way his face contorts, wishing she didn’t want to make him smile. It makes everything so much harder. “Well, you did technically, right?”

“I guess,” he looks at her, really _looks_ at her, and she feels naked, “If you could have avoided all of this, would you?”

Fiona stops walking, the pulsing purple chest fading to the background. Before that stupid deal, Sasha and Felix and she had been scraping by for food, for money. Little cons couldn’t buy them all that much. Now she had lost Felix, but had also found a true place in the world-- a way that Sasha and her could get by. Her answer is confident, “No. Everything was worth it.” She loses her confidence when she looks back at him the way he’s looking at her, “Would you?”

Fiona can see the battle he’s having inside of himself, if he should be happy or disappointed, “Well...I mean, both of my best friends made deals with my enemy-- and one of them was for my head. I had a freakin’ monster inside of me, and he was the worst kind. Jack...Jack thought he was the hero, thought that hurting people was how he could help them, and God,” Rhys swallows, “I thought I wanted to be just like him.”

Fiona looks down, aware that he hasn’t answered the question, and she refuses to think about what that means. “But...but I met you, and I-- I met your sister and we had this awesome adventure, we did amazing things together, so...no. I wouldn’t have done anything differently.” He squeezes her hand, and she smiles back at him, starting to walk again. As a child, she’d never been able to afford a friend besides Sasha. It’s strange to feel so close to someone who she’s had so many life-changing experiences with. She isn’t entirely uncomfortable with it.

A few more moments pass in silence as they walk before he murmurs, “I thought you left me. On Helios. I saw the ship through the airlock. I thought I was alone up there.”

“Well, I wasn’t on it, either. And I told you I wouldn’t leave without you,” she frowns, remembering the panic and the isolation she’d felt.

“Yeah,” Rhys smiles softly, “I get that now. So...you’re gonna keep Vault Hunting after this?”

Fiona nods, looking back up at the chest, “What about you?”

“I’ll go back to my company,” he answers a little defensively, “...but you can always call me for help, okay?”

She wants to laugh, but she knows he means it, so she nods again, “We made a pretty good team, didn’t we?”

Rhys lets out a small chuckle and sighs, “I guess we did. Thanks for giving me my shoe back.”

They’re almost up to the chest now, and Fiona can see intricate designs all along its walls. A few steps are missing before it’s platform, and Rhys lets go of her hand to climb up. He offers her his hand again once he’s stable, and she uses it as leverage to hop up. Finally, their bounty is before them, and Fiona feels an unexpected wave of dread wash over her. Is this the end?

Rhys scrubs at the back of his neck with one hand, “Uh...would you like to do the honors?”

Fiona shoves away her bad feeling and offers him a smirk, “Well...it’s the last one. It’s only right we both open it. It’s the best part, isn’t it?”

His answering smile is bright and she feels her stomach flutter, “I was kinda hoping you’d say that.”

Their fingers are interlocked between them, and Fiona takes a risk, stepping close to him quickly and reaching up to press her lips to his. The kiss is short and sweet, and Rhys looks a little dazed afterwards, but they are both satisfied. Turning back to the chest, they each placed their free hand on the glowing lid.

Fiona turns to face him, ignoring her apprehension and murmuring, “Together?”

“Together,” he confirms, and the world around them flashes a brilliant purple.

  


**Author's Note:**

> i felt like this whole scene in the game was mostly rhyiona but it was never canon in the real way, so i wrote this quickly while procrastinating. every kudos/comment is appreciated.


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